Freshman Assessment Begins, Ma Xiaotao Watches

The night before the Freshman Assessment.

After the teams were assigned, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao walked back to their dormitories, chatting as they encouraged one another.

Huo Yuhao said, "I wonder if Brother Qingfeng will take part in the Freshman Competition. He's so strong—he'll definitely get great results."

Wang Dong shook her head. "It'd be best if he doesn't. He's not on our team. What if we run into him? We'd hate to fight him, but if we don't, we'll lose."

"Huh? Is your friendship with the Specially Selected Student already more important than the Freshman Assessment?" Xiao Xiao asked in surprise.

"What are you talking about? How could the Freshman Assessment possibly be more important than him? I could skip the assessment, even leave Shrek, but I can't be without Su Qingfeng. Understand?"

The moment Su Qingfeng was mentioned, Wang Dong's eyes sparkled.

Although Xiao Xiao was also curious about Su Qingfeng, she had never seen his face and did not understand just how devastating it could be.

Hearing Wang Dong's words, she was deeply shocked and even felt a little disappointed. She muttered,

"W-Wang Dong, you've always treated the Specially Selected Student differently... Y-you... do you like him? You like people of the same sex?"

Xiao Xiao could not help but ask. For a moment, both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong froze where they stood.

"Huh? Ah, come on, how could that be? Xiao Xiao, you're overthinking it. The Specially Selected Student doesn't have a fixed class, and we were afraid he'd be lonely, so we cared about him more. How could I be that kind of person? Fine, I do like him."

Wang Dong laughed, then abruptly changed her tone and admitted it.

At once, shock was written all over Xiao Xiao's face.

Huo Yuhao was equally bewildered. "W-Wang Dong! Are you serious? You're going to fight your sister for a man?! That's... not good, is it?!"

(°ー°〃)

He had personally seen Wang Dong's opposite-sex sister, Tang Wutong, confess to Su Qingfeng. If Wang Dong was interested in Su Qingfeng too, that would be utterly world-shattering. A brother fighting his sister for a man? What a scandalous melodrama!

More importantly, who was the 0, and who was the 1?

An indescribable act produced an indescribable scene: the two strikingly similar siblings connected to Su Qingfeng. Was this a train?

Huo Yuhao violently shook his head and pulled himself out of that indescribable image. Yet when he thought of Su Qingfeng's peerless face, he did not feel disgusted at all. Instead, why did his heart feel a little restless?

"I can't be bothered talking to you two. Anyway, we just need to fight well tomorrow. Xiao Xiao, tomorrow we'll see how formidable your Twin Martial Souls are."

With that, Wang Dong returned to her dormitory.

She had no choice but to make Xiao Xiao give up on liking her. She herself was a girl, and back when she had no one she liked, she had simply let that vague feeling linger.

But now, she already had someone she clearly loved. She could not let Xiao Xiao sink too deeply. Rather than let her fall into a hopeless secret love, it was better to let her misunderstand.

That night, Su Qingfeng formed a team with Ning Tian and the others. Nangong Yun'er voluntarily withdrew, allowing Su Qingfeng to form a support-fire-ice lineup.

Du Weilun and Class Nine's homeroom teacher both found it strange that Su Qingfeng wanted an elemental-attribute teammate other than ice.

Attributes were extremely important in Soul Master battles, especially when attributes countered one another. Water and fire were incompatible, and they were each other's greatest enemies.

Yet Su Qingfeng, an ice-attribute Soul Master, had insisted on choosing Wu Feng, a Soul Master with the Fire Dragon Martial Soul.

Naturally, Su Qingfeng had his own considerations. This concerned the choice of his Second Attribute, even his third Extreme attribute, his fourth... and every attribute thereafter.

However, Wu Feng's attitude toward Su Qingfeng was not particularly friendly.

If not for Su Qingfeng's exceptional bearing and his status as a Specially Selected Student, she might have rejected his invitation on the spot.

After all, Wu Feng already had someone she liked: Ning Tian of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School. Though they were both girls, that did not hinder her admiration. As a result, she was somewhat prejudiced against men, keeping her distance from and remaining cold toward all males.

Su Qingfeng was no exception at this moment.

However, this situation would be broken in the future. When that time came, Wu Feng would regret more than anything not seizing Su Qingfeng.

That was a face capable of overturning every notion, even gender itself. It was so handsome that it shook heaven and earth; even she and Ning Tian could not help but be moved.

Su Qingfeng felt helpless. Being handsome truly was a burden!

But who could understand? Who could possibly empathize with Su Qingfeng?

The next morning, Xu Sanshi, Beibei, Tang Ya, and other upper-year Outer Court students came one after another to cheer Huo Yuhao on.

"Xiao Yuhao, I heard your Freshman Assessment matches begin today. Don't disgrace our Tang Sect!"

"I hope you get a good result." Beibei patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder.

"By the way, will that Specially Selected Student you told us about be participating in the Freshman Competition? You praised him as if there were none like him in heaven or on earth. We'll go watch the competition too."

Tang Ya said calmly, folding her arms.

Over the past nearly three months, Huo Yuhao had met Tang Ya and Beibei more than once. Every night, he sold Grilled Fish to earn extra money, and they would usually come by. During occasional chats, they learned that Huo Yuhao always set aside the best-quality Grilled Fish for Su Qingfeng.

This nearly enraged Tang Ya to death. She had given him a special Tang Sect enrollment quota so he could study at Shrek, and she had taught him all kinds of techniques and moves from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, yet he would not even give her a single Grilled Fish!

But whenever they mentioned having Huo Yuhao introduce them to this Specially Selected Student, Huo Yuhao would stammer and refuse no matter what.

Now that they had the chance, Tang Ya and Beibei were determined to see just what this Specially Selected Student was capable of—and what he looked like.

At around eight in the morning, the student teams from each class arrived at the competition grounds to observe the venue and familiarize themselves with the surroundings. Two teachers were also there to announce the competition rules.

Shrek Academy's Assessment Zone was located in the north-central area of the Martial Soul Department, adjacent to the Battle Soul Zone. The Assessment Zone was oval-shaped, while the Battle Soul Zone resembled an enclosed stadium with a large open space in the center.

A low wall circled the Assessment Zone, while the interior was divided into separate sections by partitions. These partitions could be dismantled at any time to alter the size of the sections.

The matches would officially begin there in the afternoon. The venue was lively; not only would all one thousand freshmen come to compete and watch, but some students from the first through fifth grades would also come to observe.

Su Qingfeng sat in the waiting area with Ning Tian and the others. Tang Wutong and Huo Yuhao immediately spotted the exceptionally poised Su Qingfeng amid the crowd and could not help waving at him.

At that moment, amid the sea of people, the crowd suddenly and voluntarily made way for someone, opening a path straight to Su Qingfeng and drawing considerable attention.

The newcomer was a woman in red. She had a tall, well-proportioned figure. The first thing people noticed was her somewhat exaggerated bosom, yet her waist was exceptionally slender before flaring sharply at her hips. Her legs were straight, and she radiated a powerful aura of youthful vitality.

Yet her face could not be seen. She wore a Red Veil, though her brows and eyes alone made it clear that she must be a beauty.

Her pale pink eyes easily gave people a soul-stirring sensation. Fortunately, her gaze was cold, slightly suppressing that bone-melting allure. But when her eyes fell upon Su Qingfeng, they instantly became incomparably passionate.

With a hint of jealousy, she directly said to Ning Tian, "You. Move over one seat."

Ning Tian sensed that the newcomer was extraordinary, but she was proud herself. She turned her head away and ignored her.

Su Qingfeng said helplessly, "Why are you here too?"

"Hmph, I'm not stupid. You haven't been on the island or in the Inner Court for three months. Anyone could guess that you must be in the Outer Court."

"I wandered around the Outer Court a few times and happened to hear that there was a Specially Selected Student among the freshmen. I thought that was strange. Then I went to find the Outer Court's dean, Du Weilun, and finally learned about your situation. Don't think you can hide from me."

"Perfect. Let's see how my dear Little Martial Uncle's Ice Attribute massacres everyone in his age group."

Beneath her veil, Ma Xiaotao smiled as warmly as the spring breeze.